WB Sets Release Dates for 'Lantern,' 'Sherlock,' 'Jonah Hex,' and 'Deathly Hallows'

Warner Bros. has called dibs on several big weekends in 2010, and in the process, has given us some big time news on several new releases. The reigning box office champion among the major studios, Warner is againg poised to have a big year, with Watchmen and Harry Potter likely combining for a half a billion dollars between them. For 2010, the studio is banking on Christopher Nolan and a superhero, though not at the same time. Nolan is spacing out his Batman films, giving us an original science fiction flick called Inception , which Exhibitor Relations says will open on the same weekend as The Dark Knight did this past summer, July 16th. The superhero is The Green Lantern, and here's a switch: Warner and DC are setting up a tentpole during the holiday season. The Green Lantern , directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale) is scheduled to open December 17, 2010. That makes a certain amount of sense because Marvel is circling summer 2010 like a giant vulture. They've got Thor and Iron Man 2 separated by a few weeks, leaving very little for another hero, and as Tina Turner profoundly argued so many years ago, we may not even need another hero. Speaking of heroes, Perseus will be re-imagined on March 26, 2010, when Clash of the Titans hits theaters, and Josh Brolin's Jonah Hex will show up on August 6th next year. Warner Bros. is still shuffling its 2009 schedule, too, bouncing Sherlock Holmes from mid-November to Christmas. The one problem I see here is there's still a heat check on Robert Downey, Jr. He's what your selling and two years ago, you couldn't give him away. He had a huge year in 2008, but The Soloist has already been dragged from its original 2008 home and dropped in late April. If anything, I would've moved Holmes into October instead of delaying it another five weeks. And finally, there's more news on Harry Potter. Warner Bros. will release the second of two Deathly Hallows films on July 15, 2011. Why is that significant? Because The Avengers is already scheduled for that day. Who blinks?

Comments

[MRPigg]

If I were Marvel, I would blink. Iron Man and The Dark Knight were phenomenons, we may be sick of superheroes in two and a half years. And we are still not sure how all the pieces will come together. And you want to go against the last ever Harry Potter? The most succesful franchise in history? Good luck with that.